Steam-engine



' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. R..T.. ABELL.

STEAM ENGINE.

(No Model.)

Patent ed Deo. Z6',"189 3.

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R. T. ABELL. v

STEAM ENGINE.

No. 511,488. Patented Dec.26,1893.

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ROBERT T. ABELL, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

. STEAM-ENGINE.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 511,488, dated December26, 18 93.

Application filed March 15, 1893. Serial No. 466,099- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT T. ABELL, a subject of Victoria, Queen ofGreat Britain, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga andState of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSteam-Engines; and Mo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in steam engines; its objects areto secure, first, increased efficiency in operation and in use of steam;second, economy in construction; third, ease and certainty of adjustmentand regulation; fourth, increased durability; and fifth, economy ofspace; and it consists in the special construction of parts and thecombination and arrangement of means to effect the ends above set forth.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents in plan view and partial section anengine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section throughthe cylinder head, taken on the.

line a;a; of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal vertical sectionthrough the cylinder and head. Fig. 4 is a detached view of the valve;Fig. 5 a detached view of the valve chamber. Fig. 6 is an end view, andFig. 7 a side view, both in elevation, of the rock-shaft connection bywhich the valve is operated. Fig. 8 is a detached view, in elevation, ofthe mechanism by which the valve rods are connected to their respectiveeccentrics.

Arepresents the steam cylinder, B the steam inlet passage, 0 the exhauststeam passage, and a a flanges by which the cylinder is secured to itsbed. Preferably the cylinder is cast in a single piece, with the steampassages B and O cored out and extending entirely through from end toend. D D are the cylinder heads, containing each the steam inlet valve Eand exhaust valve E, each valve c'on- .tained in a valve chamber Fremovab-ly inserted in the cylinder head D and retained therein by acover G. The valves are of the piston type, of peculiar construction,and

each having its stem h protruding through a stuffing box 2' on the coverG. The cylinder heads are of a depth equal to that of the valvechambers, andv have shoulders 01 d upon which the valve chambers arefitted; each head is divided by one or more part1- tions 61 into twocompartments, respectively the inlet and the exhaustiside, in each ofwhich compartments at least one of the valves is located.

The cylinder heads are secured to the cylindor by heavy bolts, (omittedin the drawings,) and have steam ports which register with the steaminlet and exhaust passages of the cylinder; they are alike andinterchangeable, so that the head'from one end of the cylinder .could betransferred to the other end with all its valves in place and be foundperfectly fitted and adapted to its new location. The result of thisconstruction 1s that steam fills the cylinder head at all times andentirely surrounds the valve chambers, being of course live steam on theinlet side andexhaust steam on the other side of the partition d By thismeans the valve chamber and valve on the inlet side are kept constantlyhot and of an even temperature, substantially that of the boilerpressure, and the valve and chamber on the exhaust side are surroundedby exhaust steam, or' steam vapor at the atmospheric pressure in case nocondenser is used, and are likewise ,kept constantly hot and with butlittle variation of temperature while-the cylinder head itself is keptso hot that there is no perceptible condensation in either cylinder orvalves, and no loss of presssubstantially with that of the ports f, andthe depth of the recess from the periphery of the valve being such thatthe area of section of the recess shall at least equal at all pointsthat of the portion of the port uncovered at that position of the valve,so as to avoid'wiredrawing the steam. A small opening, e, is madethrough the valve, longitudinally, whereby it is steam balanced.

The valves are connected and operated in the following manner: Arockshaft K, with arms 7th, is supported in a bracket k secured to thecylinder head, or preferably to the cover G, at each side of eachcylinder head. One arm, 70, of the shaft K is provided with a pin towhich is attached the connecting rod,

L or L, by which the corresponding valves nected together, and to theeccentric by which they are moved by means of the eccentric rod Z or ZAs will be seen by reference to Fig. 1, the inlet valves at the oppositeends of the cylinder are thus connected and operated, by means of rod Z,by an eccentric R, automatically controlled by the governor, and theexhaust valves are similarly connected, and operated, by means of rodl',by an independent eccentric S. The opposite arm, 7a, of each rockshaft is adjustable on its shaft by means of clamp bolts 70 and carriesat its free end a ball bearing, consisting of a ball at seated in asocket in the arm 70' and perforated to recelve one end of an'arm 0,which is clamped upon the valve stem h and fitted to slide snugly in theperforated ball m. As the result of this construction the valves have acombined reciprocating and rotary motion, and are capable of independentadjustment. All of the valves are alike in construction and sponlnlarl yfitted, and are therefore interch an gea e.

The operation of the valves is as follows: Steam being admitted to theinlet passage B passes thence into the chambers formed by the interiorof the cylinder heads, filling the inlet sides thereof up to thepartition (1 and entering through the ports fof which ever one ofthevalve chambers has its ports partially uncovered by the valve. As theport is short and at the cylinder end, the steam is on the pistonpractically at the instant of passing the port, and as the piston moves,the valve, mov ng 1n the same line but in the opposite direction, opensthe port still wider as the shaft K rocks by the action of the eccentricR. The rocking of shaft K causes the arm k to lift its inner end whichcarries the ball m, and as the armo which is clamped to thevalve stempasses through this ball, it is obvious that the ball must turn in itsseat to accommodate the motron, andthat this willcause the arm 0 torotate the valve stem at the same time that it reciprocates the latterin the longitudinal line of the cylinder. As the shaft K is located nearthe plane 1n which the valve stem reciprocates, themotion of arm 70'will at first be chiefly in a direction transverse to the linein whichthe valve reciprocates, passing to a direction in turn stroke are thereverse of those just described, being first chiefly reciprocatory andat last chiefly rotary, but at all times a combined reciprocating androtary motion except at the instant when arm it" passes the center lineof the valve stem or moves in exact line therewitln It is obvious fromthe foregoing that the valve opens very quickly when its rotary motioncommences, and remains open during its reciprocatory motion, and thatthe closing of the valve occurs with equal quickness. Further, it isobvious that the relation of the speed and extent of rotation to that oflongitudinal travel of the valve is capable of exact adjustment byvarying the point on the valve stem at which the arm 0 is clamped, andthat the travel of the valve will be determined entirely by the throw ofthe eccentric R, which in turn is controlled by the governor, in any ofthe ways already Well understood. So exact is the adjustment of whichthe valve is capable that when properly set the governor willautomatically control the cut-off at any point from zero to a fullseveneighths of the piston stroke.

As all the valves are similarly constructed and operated, the action ofthe exhaust valves, being precisely similar, needs no descriptionfurther than to point out that, as the exhaust valves are independentlyoperated,they may be adjusted to release at any desired point and tocushion the piston to any desired degree. Any one of the valves isseparately adjustable without interfering with any of the others, and asthe valve adjustments aremade by the setting of the arms 0 and they arevery easily and quickly eifected. It hardly needs to be stated that boththe inlet valves and the exhaust valves at, opposite ends of thecylinder are oppositely set, that is, so that when one is open itsfellow at the other end of the cylinder is closed, and vice versa.

Although I do not limit myself to any special method of connecting theinlet valves to the eccentric R, which is controlled by the governor inany of the usual methods, I have shown in the drawings a method ofconnecting the valves with their eccentrics which I prefer as being atonce simple, compact and efficient, as well as readily and accuratelyadjustable.

A transverse shaft, W, is supported in suitable bearings in the bed andextends across the same below the cross-head guide-ways, protruding ateach side of the bed, as seen in Fig. 1. On the end nearest the flywheelthe shaft 7 supports a U-shaped oscillating arm T, having the arms 25 oneach of which, near the bend, is a hub fitting upon the shaft W so as towork smoothly thereon as a pivot. The arms t t are connected, the onetoeccentricR by a rod 1 and the other to the rod Z, as seen in Fig. 1,by which means the motion of the eccentric R is transmitted to thevalverod L which works the inlet valves. Between the arms 25 t of theoscillator T is placed a rocker arm V, having a hub which just fillseccentric S is transmitted to' rod lubricated,and not liable to wear.

the space between the two hubs of arm T, on the shaft Rand this arm V isrigidly secured to the shaft W; and thus holds the arm T thereon. A rodZ connects the eccentric S to the arm V, and on "the-other end of shaftW a similar arm V is secured, to which the rod Z is connected, and thusthe motion of L which works the exhaust-valves. Y

P represents the pistomp the piston rod, Q the cross-head, q the pitman,N the main crank, 12 the. main shaft, J the fly wheel containing thegovernor, and Z the engine bed.

Among the advantages obtained by my invention are these: The ports areexceedingly short; the quick opening and quick closing of the valvesenable the valve to be open during a larger portion/of the stroke of thep ston, and give ample release to the steam with very small travel ofvalve, which reduces the clearance to a minimum, and enables me to getthe full boiler pressure at all times, and to work with steam at anypressure. The valves are small and light, practically frictionless, andentirely free from springs, balance plates, wedges, cams,dash pots,crabclaws, &c., andare perfectly balanced, easily inder heads, valvechambers, valves, &c., are alike and interchangeable, and substantiallyall the work on the cylinder and parts connected with it is lathe work,which, with the simplicity of parts, their small number and lack ofdiversity, makes this engine more economical to build, and for the samereasons more durable in use, than any engine now in the market.

This engine can be either horizontal or upright, and can run at anyspeed, being fully equal to all the demands of the latest electricalwork, for which. indeed it has been especially designed. This form ofcylinder is adapted to be used either single or com pound, triple orquadruple expansion, and with any length of stroke. 'Itis also welladapted to use on marine or locomotive engines, on air compressors,refrigerating machines, pumping machines, elevators, and in factwherever steam is used as a motive power.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is- I 1. A steam engine cylinder having its heads in the form of hollowchambers constituting steam-chests substantially coextensive with thecylinder-end and containing piston valves seated in removable valvechambers and moving in the same line with the piston, substantially asdescribed.

2. A steam engine cylinder having its heads in the form of hollowchambers constituting steam-chests substantially coextensive with thecylinder end and containing diagonallyrecessed piston valvesseated inremovable valve chambers and moving in the'same line with the'piston,substantially as described.

3. Asteam engine cylinder-head in the form of a hollow chamber ofdiameter substantially The cylequal to that. of the cylinder anddivide-dby a partition into inlet and exhaust sides in each of which is locateda diagonally-recessed piston valve seated in a removable valve chamberand mo'vinginithe same line with the piston, substantially as described.

- l. A steam engine cylinder-headin the form of a hollowchamber ofdiameter substantially equal to that of the cylinder and divided by apartition into two sides each containing a removable valve chamberhavingt-herein apiston valve moving in the longitudinal line of thecylinder, substantially as described.

5. A cylinder-head in the form of a hollow chamber of diametersubstantially equal to that of the cylinder, divided by a partition andhaving communication on one side of the partition with the steam supplyand on the other side with the exhaust escape, and having on each sideof the partition a removend ,of the valve chamber and which valvesubstantially as described. I I

7. A cylinder-head in the form-of-a chamber divided by a partition andhaving'communication'on one side of the partition with the steam supplyand on the other side with .has both a reciprocating and a rotarymotion,

the exhaust escape, and containing on each side of the partition a valveof the piston type diagonally recessed and seated in a valve chamberremovably inserted in the cylinder head and extending entirely throughthe same, said valve chambers having diagonal ports invfreecommunication with the cavity of the cylinder-head, substantiallyas de scribed. Y

S. Asteam engine cylinder-having the steam inlet and steam exhaustpassages extending entirely through the same from face to face,

in combination with cylinder heads in the form of chambers adapted toclose the cylinder ends and form steam chests having free communicationwith the steam inlet and exhaust passages of the cylinder, said headshaving a partition separating the inlet'and exhaust sides thereof, andcontaining valve chambers in which are seated inlet andexhaust valves ofthe piston type having motion in the longitudinal line of the cylinder,substantially as described.

9. Asteam engine cylinder having the steam inlet and steamexhaust-passages extending entirely through the same from face to face,

in combination with cylinder heads in the form of chambers adapted toclose the cylinder ends and form steam chests having free communicationwith the steam inlet and exhaust passages of the cylinder, said headshaving a partition separating the inlet and exhaust sides thereof, andcontaining valve chambers in which are seated inlet and exhaust valvesof the piston type having a reciprocating and rotary motion,substantially as described.

10. The combination with the cylinder head of a removable valve chamberhaving ports in free communication with the cavity of the cylinder head,a piston valve located in said chamber and having its stem protrudingtherefrom, and the rock shaft connected with the valve rod of theeccentric and with the valve stem, substantially as described.

11. The combination with the cylinder head of a removable valve chamberhaving diagonal ports in free communication with the cavity of thecylinder head, a diagonally recessed piston valve located in saidchamber and having its stem protruding therefrom,

it and the rock shaft connected with the valve rod of the eccentric andwith the valve stem, substantially as described.

12. The combination with the diagonally recessed piston valve located inthe cylinder head and seated in valve chamber having diagonal ports infree communication with the cavity of the cylinder head, of the rockshaft operated by the valve rod of an eccentric and connected to thevalve stem by a ball joint, substantially as described.

13. The combination with a diagonally recessed piston valve, located inthe cylinder head and seated in a valve chamber having diagonal ports,of a rock shaft operated by the valve rod of an eccentric and connectedto the valve stem by an arm adjustably clamped upon the valve stem andhaving a ball joint on the rock shaft arm, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

14. The combination with the diagonally recessed piston valves, seatedin valve chambers removably inserted in the cylinder head and havingdiagonal ports in free communication with the cavity thereof, of therock shafts at each end of the cylinder, connected by ball joints to thevalve stems and joined by a connecting rod to which the valve rod of theeccentric is connected, whereby the corresponding valves at the oppositeends of the cylinder are simultaneously moved, substantially asdescribed.

15. The combination with the hollow cylinder-head of the valve-chambersremovably .inserted therein and extending through the same, and thecovers secured to the outer face of the cylinder-head and closing thevalve-chamber while retaining it in position, substantially asdescribed.

16. The removable valve-chambers in the form of cylindrical tubes, openat both ends, and having an external shoulder at each end, incombination with the hollow cylinder-head, shouldered to receive thevalvechambers, and a cover secured to the outer face of thecylinder-head and closing the outer end of the valve-chamber and havinga stuffing-box for the valve-stem, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereto afiix my signaturein presence of twowitnesses.

. ROBERT T. ABlELL.

Witn esses P. PRENTISS, LOREN PRENTIss.

